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Brownielocks and The 3 Bears
presentCartoon Fun
and

The Navajo
Mountain Chant is held in Arizona, nine days at the end of winter. Since March
21st is usually the beginning of Spring (thus the end of winter) I am assuming
that this is usually held then on March 30th? Basically, this observance
marks the seasonal transition. It happens at the end of the thunderstorms but
before the spring winds come. The Navajo believe that if this ceremony was
held at any other time, it would result in death from lightning or snake
bite. The chant is also considered a curing ceremony, not only for
physical healing in those that are ill, but also to heal relationship disharmony
and restore balance in relationships.

This
ceremony goes back to the legend of Dsilyi Neyani, the oldest son of a wandering
Navajo family. One day while hunting, he gets captured by the Utes.
He escapes with the help of the Gods (called Yei). During the long journey
to return back to his family, he faces many hazards, learning a lot about magic
and ceremonial acts. A few examples are that he learns how to make sand
paintings, to do the feathers dance, swallowing arrows, how to make a weasel
appear and other magic, how to handle fire without getting burnt how to make the
mystical "hu-hu-hu" cry that is used in the Mountain Chant dance.

When
Dsilyi does return to his family, he discovers they've grown into an entire
tribe. It takes Dsilyi 4 days and 4 nights to tell everyone what he's gone
through and learnt during his absence from them. But, it's the rituals
that he brings back that messengers are sent out to invite more people to come
see them and hear what he has learnt. Today, this still holds true and
visitors are more than welcome to experience the Mountain Chant.

Although
it's called the Mountain Chant, it really consists of four different ceremonies,
all based on the legend of Dsilyi. But, these all differ in their
presentation and interpretation. The wording of the songs that are sung
vary. The most moving ceremony of all is on the last day. This is when the
medicine man emerges (from the hogan or lodge) at sunset and starts to chant,
while the circle of evergreens rises as if by magic. This circle is
approximately 8 to 10 feet tall, each hiding a man inside who is handling
it. The evergreens form a circular enclosure about 100 feet in
diameter. There is only one opening and that is on the East side. All the
ground inside this evergreen circle is considered sacred. In the center
there is also a cone-shaped bonfire.

The
bonfire is then lit. Dancers have pre-whitened their bodies with
clay. They rush into the circle, leaping and waving their arms and legs
wildly. They circle the bonfire first from south to west to north and then south
again. The white clay that they put on their bodies is believed to protect
them from the flames of the fire. Sometimes sumac wands tipped with wings
of fluffy eagle down are thrown into the fire. This down flares briefly (a
lot like pine cones do in a fire) and then burns away. The dancers hide a
second ring of fluff, which they shake to the ends of their wands. This
creates the illusion that the fluffy eagle down has been magically
restored. There is another illusion called the "yucca trick" in
which a yucca plant appears to grow miraculously from a bare root, then blossoms
and finally shows its fruit.

The Fire
Dance takes place just before dawn, when the central bonfire has now burnt down
to embers. Young men drag in huge trees to feed the central fire again and
the dancers make a sound with their tongues that imitates the sound of a hot
fire. Then they carry a lot of shredded cedar bark that is started on fire
by the coals that are at the base of this fire. Once these bundles of
cedar are burning, they are tossed over the fence to the east and then in the
other three directions. Men dance again in a circle around the fire, beating
their own bodies as well as each other's bodies with the flaming brands.
Later on, spectators gather up bits of the burned cedar as a protection for them
against fire during the coming year.

The
Mountain Chant was made into a movie in 1926 by Roman Hubbell. The star
was named "Crawler" because he was paralyzed from the waist down
(supposedly while attempting to learn the Navajo Night
Chant). But his disability did not prevent him from learning and
performing the Navajo Mountain Chant.

Circle
of Evergreens

The very
first Circle of Evergreens was 6 miles in diameter and crowed with people!
Today, it is not this large of an event. But, the dark circle of
evergreens is still a very important part of this event. The trees
represent both the black and blue spruce, mentioned in the legend of Dsilyi
Neyani. The songs sung during the Mountain Chant reveal that the black
symbolizes the male and the blue symbolizes the female. This is why the
pairing of the colors blue and black is common in Navajo. Black is also
associated with the north, the direction where evil and danger are believed to
dwell. Blue is associated with the south. In the Mountain Chant, the home
of the mountain sheep consist of two black rooms and two blue rooms.

Fire

Fire
symbolizes annihilation to the Navajo people (as with most Native American
tribes that believe in magic). Fire is felt to burn away evil. And, the
ability to tolerate the exposure to extreme heat during the Fire Dance on the
last night of the ceremony is said to symbolize one's ability to control fire;
or, in other words, to control evil in your life.

Plumbed
Arrow

One of the
most important dances during the Mountain Chant is called the Dance of the Great
Plumbed Arrow. These plumbed arrows are considered the most sacred of
healing devices. The dance itself has a little trick to it. Each
dancer will hold his arrow up over the "patient" who is being cured by
this ceremony. Then the dancer thrusts this arrow down his own throat,
which causes the spectators to gag in sympathy. But, what really happens
is this "sword swallowing" or arrow is really done by holding the
arrowhead between the teeth and running the shaft of the arrow into a hollow
casing. The patient is then touched with the arrows, which are believed to
chase evil from the body.

Sand
Paintings

The sand
paintings are done before the Mountain Chant ceremony starts. A large is
first covered with very fine sand, which is smoothed out as flat as possible to
become the canvas. More than one man will work on the sand painting. It
may be as many as a dozen at once. Each man lets colored sand (red, blue, yellow
and white) dribble through their fingers to form their desired patterns.
It's the medicine man's job to oversee this process. He is also the
quality control man and is quick to point out any errors because one little
mistake can undermine the effectiveness of the entire ceremony.

The sand
painting is an important role in the healing process. The hogan or lodge
is a typical Navajo building with earth walls reinforced by timbers. When
a patient is admitted into the hogan, the medicine man then starts to
chant. When he is done chanting, he will then sprinkle the patient and the
sand painting also with a feather dipped in water. He will then take sand
from various parts of the sand painting and apply it to parts of the patient's
body. Spectators are also allowed to take sand and touch their own bodies
with it, so they can share in the cure. Afterward, the sand painting is
destroyed and the sand taken away.

What are
these sand paintings of? Typically, they represent events in the legend of
Dsilyi Neyani. One example is a sand painting of four figures known as the
Long Bodies who helped Dsilyi during his long trek home. The black long
body is said to belong to the north, the white one which is under it belongs to
the east, the blue one is next meaning the south and the bottom one which is
yellow represents the west.

The
Night Chant

Happily
may I walk.
May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.